Problem Descriptor Reference > The Sections of a Descriptor > Definitions > TABLE Import Definitions

A single imported data function may be declared by one of the forms:

name = TABLE ( 'filename' )

name = TABLE ( 'filename', coord1 [,coord2...] )

Both forms import a data table from the named file and associate the data with the defined name.

In the first form, the coordinates of the table must be named in the file.

In the second form, the coordinates are named explicitly in the command.

In either case, the declared coordinates must be names known to FlexPDE at the time of reading the file.

The format of the TABLE file describes a function of one, two or three coordinates.

The TABLE statement must appear in a parameter definition (in the DEFINITIONS section or as a regional parameter definition in a REGION clause), and the table data are associated with the given name. Note: FlexPDE version 6 and later do not allow TABLE to be used directly in arithmetic expressions.

When the parameter name is used in subsequent computations, the current values of the table coordinates will be used to interpolate the value. For instance, if the table coordinates are the spatial coordinates X and Y, then during computations or plotting, the named parameter will take on a spatial distribution corresponding to the table data spread over the problem domain.

In version 7.11 and later, FlexPDE will issue an error diagnostic if table data is accessed outside of the defined range. This was added as a warning to the user since extrapolated data may not be trustworthy. This table bounds check can be turned off using the selector CHECK_TABLES.

The TABLE Input function

The TABLE Input function